1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to portable electronic devices having keyboards. More particularly, this invention relates to a wrist support or rest for portable electronic devices having expandable keyboards.
2. Background
Small portable electronic devices, e.g. laptop and notebook computers, use smaller keyboards than their desktop counterparts to reduce the overall footprint of the portable device. This is recognized as a problem in the industry as users prefer full size keyboards. Recently, IBM.RTM. introduced the ThinkPad 701C model of notebook computers which incorporates an expandable keyboard which expands and contracts transversely between a full size keyboard and a compressed footprint size for storage. Representations of this product appear in FIGS. 1A-1C. The keyboard is roughly divided in half into two sections along a stairstepped diagonal line. The lid (screen) of the notebook activates a mechanical translation assembly which siftils the left side of the keyboard to the left, with only a single degree of freedom. The translation assembly also shifts the right side of the keyboard to the right and then back toward the user using two degrees of freedom, to expand the keyboard. Conversely, as the lid is closed the process is reversed. Other manufacturers are working on other designs to provide similar functionality.
Another problem with all keyboards, which isn't unique to just small keyboards, is the provision of a wrist support to position the wrists ergonomically to help prevent repetitive task injuries like carpel tunnel syndrome. This problem is exacerbated by the small keyboards typical of portable electronic devices. None of the manufacturers of these devices, at least those of which the inventor is aware, addresses the provision of a wrist support for an expandable keyboard.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a wrist support configuration and keyboard translation assembly for an expandable keyboard to provide a larger size keyboard with a wrist rest.